Queen and 'Clint' headed to Grand Hunt
By JOE L. HUGHES II Ledger Staff Writer joe@gaffneyledger.com

Following the death of his champion black labrador retriever, C.J. (short for Comfort & Joy) in 2004, Terry "Stick" Queen often thought he would never train another dog of her caliber- or another one at all.

"I was asked by a fellow trainer why I had quit training and all I could tell him was that I had reached the top with (C.J.) and there was no going back," Queen said.

Little did he know at the time there was another black lab waiting in the wings with the same heart of a champion.

Queen is currently preparing Clint for The Grand Hunt, the premier event for hunting retrievers.

Invitations to the hunt are reserved only for hunting retriever champions, a claim only 4,000 dogs worldwide can make. More than 300 trainers and dogs will make their way in late April to this year's event on the shores of Lake Oconee in Madison, Ga.

The team will be traveling to the Peach State next week to prepare for the games.

"It is definitely an honor to go and be at an event with other great trainers," Queen said. "The hunt is the pinnacle of this profession and it feels good to be going back."

Queen was the first trainer from South Carolina to qualify a black labrador retriever when C.J. earned a spot in the event from 1993-96. The canine would go on to finish as one of the top 44 hunting retrievers at the hunt, which at the time only invited hunting retrievers from the Unites States and Canada.

"This trip to the Grand Hunt is in honor of C.J., a champion in her own right," Queen said. "C.J. did extremely well placing in the top 44. To duplicate that type of effort will be tough, but I believe we can do it."

According to Queen, the event puts both the trainer and dog in difficult true-tolife situations. Broken up into two separate land and water series, judges will evaluate dogs on stamina, consistency, control and the ability to retrieve targeted birds.

"It is merely a pass-or-fail type of deal," Queen said. "Though you want to do your best going into the event, you already know your dog is one of the best at what he is doing."

The event runs for at least five days, putting pressure on Queen to train Clint to the best of his ability while trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

"This is a five- to sevenday ordeal, so you must be focused if you want to be successful," Queen said. "All you can do is prepare though, which means continually running drills because nothing in these events is a given."

However, Queen also knows it takes a few lucky bounces for a dog and his trainer to make a splash at the hunt.

"I am definitely banking on experience to help. I am using my past hunt with C.J. to help me not make the similar mistakes with Clint," Queen said.

"But I also know it takes some breaks to come out well in the games."